Students Request Wallflowers for Fest

In a two-day Crimson poll which surveyed more than 300 people about which band they would like to see perform at the Undergraduate Council's Springfest, students gave the decisive nod to the Wallflowers (29.7 percent of the vote), a grammy-nominated alternative rock group.

Second, (with 15.8 percent of the vote) was Run DMC, an old-school rap band, probably best known for their collaboration with Aerosmith on "Walk This Way."

No band was able to garner more than 30 percent of the vote, indicating to some that it is difficult to find a band that can please the diversity of musical tastes on campus.

"In some ways it is good that 90 percent of the campus doesn't prefer one band," said Tally Zingher '99, former co-chair of the Campus Life Committee. "There is such diversity on this campus that it is difficult to find consensus on a musical group."

Others saw the large number of people who said they had no preference (29.7 percent) as representative of the general student apathy on campus.

One group that has not been apathetic has been the Black Students' Association. A mailing was sent on the BSA e-mail list telling members to e-mail council President Lamelle D. Rawlins '99 and request Redman, Run DMC, and Doug E. Fresh.

Rawlins said she has received nearly 60 personal e-mails from students, almost all of them advocating Redman, Run DMC or Doug E. Fresh.

Although some have seen this campaign as an attempt to unfairly bias the selection of the band, Rawlins herself said that she welcomes the input of her constituents.

To that end, the council will be sponsoring another poll to be conducted over e-mail from today through Thursday. Students should type "ucvote" at the fas prompt to indicate their preferences.

"I think the two polls complement each other really well," Rawlins said. "We can always be better off with more information."

Past council members who have been responsible for securing bands urge students to remember that signing bands is not an exact science.

"It's not as easy as going into a store and picking up an item off a shelf," said Rudd W. Coffey '97, former co-chair of the Campus Life Committee. "We are competing against colleges and arenas across the country."

The council is also severely limited in its choice by its $9,000 budget, council members said.

"It is important that students know we are acting under severe budgetary constraints because the administration does not supplement our funds," Rawlins said.

"We have very little to offer except the Harvard name," Coffey said.

The last two Springfests have seen "Pharcyde," "G. Love and Special Sauce" perform on campus. Student SpringFest Band Preferences Andrew K. Mandel and Joshua H. Simon Crimson     Choices by % Musical Group  1st  2nd  3rd Doug E. Fresh  2.2  8.6  10.1 God Street Wine  5.9  14.4  6.7 Redman  5.6  10.9  6.7 Run DMC  15.8  21.3  27.7 Samples  13.0  16.7  10.9 Wallflowers  27.2  21.8  18.5 No Band  0.6  0.6  0.8 No Preference  29.7  5.7  18.5 Number of respondents: 1st choice--323; 2nd choice--174; 3rd choice--119. Source: Crimson phone survey.